It was only a friendly, but Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas said the 4-0 defeat
against Portugal in Lisbon still hurt the world champions.

Jorge Carlos Martins fired the Portuguese ahead on the stroke of half-time before second-half goals from Helder Postiga, Spain defender Sergio Ramos, who put through his own goal, and substitute Hugo Almeida sealed a deserved win for the hosts.

The victory allowed Portugal to gain a measure of revenge for their World Cup exit at the hands of the Spanish, having lost 1-0 at the last-16 stage, and saw new coach Paulo Bento earn his third successive win since he replaced Carlos Queiroz in September.

For Spain, it was the second heavy friendly defeat in the space of two months following their 4-1 loss against Argentina, and Fabregas, who replaced Xavi at half-time, admits it was a night to forget.

"We're hurt. It's been a big scoreline but we have to lift ourselves. We wanted to finish the year well but now we have to wait until February," the Arsenal playmaker said.

"The truth is it's a match where we can't take anything positive. They played better than us, they had a lot of desire...."

Fabregas, who also feels that many of the Spain squad are still trying to get back to peak fitness following their heroics in South Africa this summer, added: "Now we need to apologise to the fans and continue forward."